Episode 274 - Gordon Perry, PLS

Episode 274 - Gordon Perry, PLS

From The Geoholics by thegeoholics

March 25, 2026 · 1h 21m · Episode 331

About this episode

Gordon Perry discusses his journey in surveying and the complexities of LiDAR technology in rail infrastructure.

This week, The Geoholics take a deep dive underground—literally and figuratively—with rail and LiDAR expert Gordon Perry, PLS. From the streets of Detroit to the tunnels beneath NY Penn Station, Gordon brings a perspective shaped by grit, precision, and a relentless pursuit of quality. Gordon shares his journey from Lansing Community College into the world of surveying—where curiosity turned into passion, and passion turned into a career spanning some of the most complex infrastructure projects in the country. We’re talking 1,200 miles of the Amtrak Northeast Corridor, full transit system mapping across MBTA lines, and working in environments most surveyors will never experience—like fully underground rail systems where GPS is nonexistent and precision is everything. If you’ve been hearing the LiDAR buzz—this episode breaks it down. Gordon walks us through the full workflow. And here’s the truth bomb: Data collection gets the spotlight… but processing is where careers are made or broken. He also calls out one of the biggest misconceptions in the industry—thinking LiDAR is “push-button easy.” Spoiler alert: it’s not. Not if you care about quality. Gordon emphasizes that great…

People in this episode

Host: thegeoholics

Guest: Gordon Perry

Topics covered

Keywords

Mentioned in this episode

Places: Detroit, NY Penn Station, Lansing Community College, Amtrak Northeast Corridor, MBTA

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